The Art of Affection
by zeurin
Summary: So Sango's life twists with Sesshomaru's when she saves him. When they both lose something they love, they decide to group together to make the person who caused their loss pay. SS!
1. The Failed Plan

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or else I would not be writing a fan fiction about it. I would just change it to my liking, get that?

Ok, so I guess this will take place just after Mt. Hakurei collapses and Naraku is reborn. A little bit before they meet the forefather of Hojo, though. It might not seem like it right now, but this will have to do with the pair Sango/Sesshomaru. Just be patient and wait.

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**Chapter One: The Failed Plan **

Sango frowned, not believing her ears. "We're going to do _what?_" she demanded

Kagome sighed, "I know it may sound kinda dangerous and stupid, but we're outta time. If we wait any longer, then Naraku is going to get even stronger and impossible to defeat," She gazed at her friend with pleading brown eyes, "Please Sango? It's our only chance."

"She's right," Inuyasha said, trying to make his face look indifferent but the taijiya could see worry etched into his face, "We have to do this."

Sango still wasn't sure of this, "I don't know. I really doubt that Naraku would fall for this… It's too simple of a plan. Surely he would have thought of this?"

"That's the point!" Miroku exclaimed, "It's so simple that Naraku _couldn't_ have thought of this!"

"Are you sure?" Sango asked hesitantly.

"YES!" Everyone, even quiet Shippo who had not been in their conversation, practically shouted back at her.

"Ok, ok," She agreed, "Lets do it!" She still wasn't so sure about their plan, but if everyone thought that it would work, it probably would work. But still, she sensed a premonition coming from their plan. Sango ignored the bad feeling in the pit of her stomach and smiled at the others, who were all getting prepared…

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Sango clutched on to Kirara, worried to death about what they were going to do next, but she did not allow her fears to be voiced to the man who sat behind her, his arms wrapped tightly against her waist. Their plan was quite simple, actually. They would just go hide and surprise attack Naraku. Hopefully he would die on this very day. Still, Sango doubted that their plan would work out. _Naraku is a intelligent, powerful opponent, as much as I hate to admit it. So, obviously, he would have thought of this, wouldn't he? _

"Sango, we're here!" Miroku whispered into her ear and she nodded and landed Kirara on the earthy ground. Then they started to creep and crawl to their designated hiding spots, silent as a stalking wolf. Well, most of them were in the plan. Shippo stayed behind with Kirara to protect him and they were currently safely hidden in the forest. Inuyasha had wanted Kagome to stay in the forest with Shippo and Kirara as well, but she had refused, and to his obvious annoyance, Sango and Miroku backed Kagome up, agreeing that they would need her spiritual help. Now Kagome crouched down behind a remarkably tall, thick old oak tree with Inuyasha while Sango and Miroku both hid behind a large boulder. They all waited for the opportune moment.

Suddenly, Naraku appeared, standing tall in his finery in the open. Who stood next to him almost made Sango gasp, but Miroku quickly put his hand over her mouth before she could. It was Kohaku.

Everyone turned their heads to stare at Sango in their hiding spots. Kagome's look was urgent. _You must not be seen, _Her look seemed to say. The taijiya nodded her agreement and they all continued to wait. Naraku looked around. He must have heard a little bit of the noises that they made, but then he chose to ignore them and continue with his business. Sango silently exhaled the breath she had been holding and continued to watch with a heavy heart, her brother with her worst enemy.

"Kohaku," Naraku said to the boy with his raspy demonic voice, "Come here."

The taijiya could only watch with horror as her beloved little brother approached the half demon. "Yes?" He asked.

"I am quite close to obtaining all the jewel shards," said the monster, "Do you know that Kohaku?"

"Yes, master," Kohaku answered blankly.

Sango's hands clenched into fists in her lap at the sight of Kohaku still brainwashed, but there was nothing for her to do but keep on watching. Her face twisted with worry as she saw Naraku's lip curl up in a smirk, "Do you also know that in order for me to make myself as completely powerful as I possibly can, I have to have all the shards of the jewel?"

There was a slight pause before Kohaku once more answered, "Yes, master," in his monotone voice. Had Sango just imagined it, or had a pang of fear shine in her brother's eyes? She doubted that he was afraid, but if he were, he had every right to, for they both knew what Naraku was attempting to do. Even though Kohaku looked perfectly fine with Naraku's decision, Sango wasn't. Her insides burned with anger and pain. She soon forgot that they were in hiding and instinctively crouched down into her battle position, her Hiraikotsu clutched tightly in her right hand.

Everything seemed to slow down and freeze as Naraku's hand approached Kohaku's jewel shard. Obviously, Kohaku did not protest or do anything to stop him. However, Sango did. Naraku's hand moved swiftly toward to shard, but when his hand was less than an inch away, something blocked his way. It was a demon bone. Naraku's eyes narrowed as he found the Hiraikotsu set protectively in front of the boy and the annoying demon slayer standing in front of him, holding the Hiraikotsu. How she had gotten there so fast was a mystery for him, but he did not care to find out.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on my brother," Sango said, her voice quiet but deadly.

Naraku grinned, "And what if I do?"

By then Inuyasha and the others had snapped out of their bewildered state and were now running toward Sango and Naraku, "Get out of the way!" Inuyasha yelled of her. Sango obeyed, grabbed Kohaku and sprinted with him in her arms towards the forest. Before the two siblings disappeared into the sanctuary of the trees, Sango could hear a man's voice yelling, "Wind Scar!" And the usual boom following it. The taijiya hoped that the Wind Scar worked, but she was in no position to stop and look behind her.

Finally, when she and her brother were about a quarter of a mile away from the fight, Sango stopped. "Kohaku," She muttered, her eyes brimming with emotions. Her dear brother, who was usually so full of life just stared at her with his blank gray eyes. The taijiya sighed and smiled at the eleven-year-old. "You may not remember me, but I'm your elder sister and I love you very much," She told him, taking Kohaku and cradling him in her arms.

Kohaku didn't do anything but just stand there and let Sango do whatever. What was going on inside his head, however, was a completely different story. _Kill her, _The voice that was so menacing and evil that it could only belong to one person sounded loudly in his head. _Must I? _Kohaku thought back, _This woman claims to be my sister and she's very nice. _

Naraku's voice grew louder and more dangerous in his head, _Kill her! KILL HER! _Kohaku couldn't fight against Naraku. He slowly gave up and let Naraku into his mind. The next thing he knew before he completely lost all his mind control, he was holding up his sickle to the woman who still embraced him then nothing…

Sango closed her eyes as she felt Kohaku's warm body against hers. She knew that she should go back and help Inuyasha, but she wanted to enjoy a little moment with her brother first. Suddenly, she saw movement from the corner of her eyes. It was Kohaku. _Wait- what is he doing? _Kohaku's hand clutching his sickle moved toward Sango's back. Sango's eyes widened at that, but it was too late to stop him. A scream rang out clearly from the midst of the forest…

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That was very, very, very bad, I know... And very short too, sorry. This shows how badly I need a beta!!! If you're interested, tell me!

Oh, and sorry for no Sesshomaru in this chapter... You'll see why he's not here and why this seemingly useless and dumb chapter is useful soon. This is my first attempt at Sango/Sesshomaru. Please review!


	2. Farewell

So, I felt so bad about the first chapter, which totally sucked ass because I was too lazy to make it good… It was so awful that I quickly rushed to update it with better stuff. Before, I was only doing oneshots and stuff that were easy to make, but this is a long serial story, so I really need a **beta**! Please??? Anyone???

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha... This story wouldn't be so freaky and odd if I were Rumiko...

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**Chapter Two: Farewell**

Sango woke with a start, gasping for air. _What an awful dream! _She thought, just lying there in the darkness for a moment. Four sturdy wooden walls surrounded her, and she was fairly sure that there was someone (perhaps Kagome?) sleeping besides her but a bit of a distance away, so she couldn't really tell who it was. The futon that she slept on was quite comfortable. _Wait, how did I get here? _The taijiya racked her brain for memories of what happened last night. Had Miroku landed them this place with his "usual methods"? Perhaps it was that. But then, why could she not remember anything but her horribly vivid dream? Frowning slightly, Sango started to get up from her futon, but couldn't. Raging pain like nothing she had ever experienced before swept through whole body, tearing at her body and leaving her seeing nothing but red-hot white nothingness. The source of her pain came from her back.

The taijiya groaned, but softly because the pain was so great that it was even hard for her to speak or make any sound. She curled up into a ball and waited as the pain slowly went away. Finally, she was able to breathe without difficulty. Why the hell did her back hurt so much? A new thought popped into her mind, _Could it be that my awful dream was real? _Startled by that thought, her small hand slowly went to her back, which caused all her pain. In her dream, Kohaku had sliced her back open with his sickle. As Sango gently touched her back, she was stunned to find it bandaged heavily. Tears sprung to her eyes as she realized that it had not been a dream. Her dear, beloved brother Kohaku had once more tried to kill her.

The realization of that made Sango's blood run cold with anger at Naraku. _How dare he! Setting my brother to kill me once was bad enough, but twice? _She shook her head in frustration. _If I weren't wounded…_ She bit her lip and silently vowed to take Naraku's head and avenge her brother…

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As dawn came, bright white light came streaming from the large window of the hut. Sango was just about to sit up, but then remembered the events of last night and decided not to risk it. A soft creaking sound indicated that the door was being opened. It was Inuyasha. Sango quickly closed her eyes, but still peeked at him through her eyelashes, pretending to be asleep. She wasn't quite sure why she did that. Perhaps it was that she didn't like anyone to see her in her weak state.

Inuyasha stared at her for a moment. Sango didn't like the way he looked at her. It wasn't a look of pity, a look of remorse that friends shared when another was hurt. It was a look of disgust and slight anger. But why was Inuyasha mad at her? What had she done? Trying to figure it out, Sango watched as Inuyasha walked past her to the other person in the futon beside her. The taijiya almost gasped with surprise when she realized that it was Kagome in there. _Wait, how did Kagome get hurt? I guess I was too busy with Kohaku to notice… _She thought, a bit guilty.

The hanyou knelt by Kagome, "Are you awake?" He softly said.

Sango watched as Kagome sat up, wincing and clutching at the wound at her side, "Now I am." She said.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just a little scratch. In no time at all, I'll be better." Kagome told him, giving a wary smile.

"Just a _little scratch_?" Inuyasha nearly exclaimed, "You were so badly hurt that you almost _died_ from the loss of blood!"

"Yeah, but I'm alive right now, and that's all that counts, right?" Kagome said, weakly.

"Of course, but I almost lost you, Kagome. That scared the crap out of me! Damn Sango! Did she have to mess up the plan?" Inuyasha said hotly, making Sango wince with guilt.

"Hush, Inuyasha, you might wake her up. Besides, it wasn't completely her fault…" Kagome stated. That hurt even worse than Inuyasha's statement. Kagome, who was usually the nicest, least-accusing, most forgiving person alive thought that it was her fault? That made Sango want to curl up and die.

"Feh," Inuyasha grunted, "If it weren't for her, we would have defeated Naraku," He said, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sango saw Kagome sigh, but she said nothing, which meant that she agreed with Inuyasha but was too nice to say so. Her insides burned with guilt. _It is my entire fault. I can't believe I did that! We were so close! I'm so stupid! And because of my stupidity, my friends had to pay… _Tears sprung to her eyes as she watched Kagome smile and cuddle with Inuyasha. Quickly, she blinked back those tears and turned so that her back was towards them.

_I'm just going to have to change. Kohaku is very dear to me, but I have to act rationally in order to save him. Hugging him to death isn't going to work. I just have to ignore him for now and let it be. _Sango thought, but knew in her heart that she could never just ignore him. If it came between defeating Naraku and saving her brother, she would choose saving Kohaku. If it came between Kagome getting hurt and saving Kohaku, she would choose saving Kohaku, no matter how bad that seemed in her mind's eye. If it came between her own life and saving Kohaku, she could easily just die. That was how much she loved her little brother.

Sango frowned slightly as she came to realize that. _But, what will I do? My main goal is to save Kohaku. Their main goal is to defeat Naraku. It'll never work out this way. I'll just end up hurting my beloved friends again. What if the next time I act so irrationally, one of my friends doesn't survive their wound? I wouldn't be able to show my face anywhere. But, I can't change. I love Kohaku too much… What do I do? _The taijiya loudly sighed, accidentally, making Inuyasha and Kagome jump and rush to her side.

"You're awake," Kagome stated, uselessly for she was just stating the obvious.

Sango bobbed her head in a nod. Not wanting to admit that she was eavesdropping on them, she said, "I just woke up."

"Are you ok?" Inuyasha asked her, though his golden eyes revealed that he didn't really care.

"Yes… Oh, and Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"Once I heal, I have some news to tell you all…"

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_A couple days later…_

"_What?_" Miroku not believing what Sango had just said, "You're going to _what_?"

Sango sighed at them. Miroku stared at her with his gorgeous puppy-dog blue eyes. Kagome clasped a hand over her mouth dramatically and was staring in shock. Inuyasha propped himself on one elbow on the ground, rolling his eyes at her. _Such different people with such different reactions, _Sango thought, shaking her head slightly. Boy, was she going to miss them so. They were her friends, the only people in this world who she loved and trusted. Was she really going to just leave them? _Of course I must! _She quickly thought, scolding herself for thinking such weak thoughts, _The only way to make sure my beloved friends don't get hurt is to keep them away from me… I will not get them in danger again; _An unconditional shiver ran down her spine, _never again! _

"Don't be a fool, Sango," Inuyasha said, not even looking at her, "You know that that was just an accident, a mistake. It'll never happen again and we forgive you for that little mess-up."

The taijiya gave her friend a bitter smile, "But, you see, the thing is that it _will _happen again," Taking in their surprised reactions, Sango allowed her smile to widen a bit, "I am willing to do anything for my brother. Anything to save him," Her smile dropped now to show them the icy cold radiating from her usually warm brown eyes, "even if it costs me my own life," She told them, not daring to look at Miroku in case those lovable blue eyes were flashed in her direction again, persuading her not to go. There was a good chance she might actually stay if they begged hard enough.

Suddenly, the slayer found warmness seep into her hands. She looked down to see Miroku holding her hands in his own. "Sango," He whispered, making the taijiya's heart pound very fast in her chest, "Don't be like this. Stay with us. Everything will be alright."

Sweet warmth washed over her entire body, making her feel very uncomfortable and turning her face an interesting color of red. "Houshi-sama," She gently whispered, entranced by his every move.

One hand slipped away from the covering around Sango's creamy delicate fingers. The taijiya stiffened, knowing what was next. However, his hand landed on her shoulder and she relaxed once more. "Sango, dearest. You said that you would come to live with me. I love you. How is it that we will ever be together if you leave me now?" The woman was put in a dreamy daze by his words, her eyes hazily gazing into his. She couldn't even remember her own first name right then.

"You're so beautiful, dearest. You're the only one out there for me, and I won't let you go, not matter what!" Miroku continued, on a roll now. Seeing Sango falling for this mushy stuff, Miroku let his hand wander from her shoulder.

Sango's eyes snapped into focus as she felt a warm hand caress her butt. Her face turned even redder, but not from embarrassment, from rage. In one fluid movement, she slapped the monk squarely in the face and stomped off, "Come on, Kirara," She called, the cute little neko transforming into it's larger, fiercer canine shape.

"Wait!" A feminine voice called out to her. Sango paused in the middle of swinging her leg over Kirara. It was Kagome.

"Yes?" Sango asked, wanting to get this over with.

Kagome stopped in front of her, something that appeared like a white box with a red cross on it in her hands, "I want you to take this on your journeys," She explained.

The exterminator's brow furrowed, "But, Kagome, this is your medical kit. What if you or anyone else gets put in danger?"

"Oh don't worry about us," Kagome said, carelessly waving a hand at her, "Inuyasha's always here to protect us and besides I can just get a new one from my time."

Sango's frown turned into a smile at her dear friend who was so concerned with her, "Oh, Kagome, you are a good friend," She slipped the small white kit in her little sack of possessions, "Thank you." The taijiya took one last look at all of the before mounting herself upon Kirara. She gave an awkward wave towards them as Kirara began to rise up in the air. "Farewell, my friends," She muttered slowly before they disappeared from her vision due to the neko's quick and agile speed.

She continued to look behind her, even though they were long gone. The slayer suddenly felt a rush of emptiness. _You'll see them again, _She tried to reassure herself. Sighing with sadness, she reached into her bag and pulled out the little medical kit. Opening it up, Sango found some bandages, some gauze, antibiotics, etc. Something shiny caught her eye. Pulling it from the depths of the kit, Sango realized that it was a little thing Kagome had called a "photograph".

A small smile appeared on the girl's face as she realized that it was one of her and Miroku. She had remembered that day clearly. Kagome had become a yearbook editor at her school (what ever that meant) and she was practicing her picture-taking skills on them. In that particular picture, Miroku had been staring at the camera with a confused look in his eyes with his arms around her. Sango smiled as she saw herself wincing from the bright light of the camera, a scowl on her face. The exterminator quickly tucked the picture back into her white box. _Man, I'm going to miss these guys so much! _She quickly compressed a sigh from escaping her lips and rode Kirara off into the distance…

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The next chapter has some Sesshomaru in it, in case you were getting anxious... Ok, so the last chapter I had 80 hits, but only 2 reviews... That really makes me feel bad. Thanks Akira M and Merelinza for reviewing! 

You see that little purplish gray button below that says "go"? Press it! This is an order!


	3. Saving an Enemy

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha blah blah blah, etc

Whoohoo! I finally updated! And it's a long one! Aren't you proud of me?

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The bright sunny sky slowly, but steadily began to turn into a warm musky orange color as the sun began to disappear beneath some far off grassy hills to the west. The east was already turning a breath-taking shade of lilac, signaling the end of day was soon. Sango silently urged Kirara on faster, wanting to find a village of some sort to spend the night in before it got too dark. Kirara let out a little grunt in protest and kept on with her steady pace. The taijiya instantly became worried. Her faithful neko had never been like this before, so why now? What was wrong with her? Sango quickly recalled the events of the day. In the morning she had left the others and gotten on Kirara and basically nothing had happened and now she was still on the neko and it was sunset… _Oh, that must be it! Poor Kirara! I've been riding her all day! _Sango thought, her guilt rising. _Kirara is probably dying from exhaustion right now! _

The exterminator glanced around, looking for a nice place to land. To her left, she could see a tall, rocky promontory, stretching out into the deep blue sea. No, that wouldn't do. Being so high up in the air would leave them both vulnerable to winged demons. To her right was a tall, lush evergreen forest. Before Sango had time to consider it, a loud bang echoed from the forest, followed by the clanging of metal, assumingly swords on armor. Interested, the slayer gazed in that direction. Suddenly, a big huge ball of red-hot flame shot from the battle directly toward her. Sango quickly tapped Kirara's side in the right places and the large fire cat dropped out of the sky a good ten feet or so. The fireball whizzed past them and harmlessly exploded into the sky, adding even more color to the sunset, making it look like some kind of a messy rainbow with shades of red, orange, pink, and purple.

Enraged that someone would dare attack them, Sango wheeled Kirara around to face toward the right. _Sure, they could fight all they want, it's none of my business, but they dare try and attack us? I'm going to get to the bottom of this! _The exterminator angrily thought, watching as electric blue energy flowed through the forest, destroying everything in its path. Not even considering the fact that demons perhaps even more powerful than she could handle would be in there, Sango nudged her pet down into the chaos beneath the leafy canopy of trees.

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The Taiyoukai's breathing grew heavy and came out in quick, ragged breaths as he allowed himself a few seconds to try and catch his breath before dodging another massive fireball. Sesshomaru's long silvery hair flew out behind him as he appeared behind the scaly cobra with impressing speed. He was just about to draw out the Tokijin when an icy blast came soaring toward him. Sesshomaru quickly sped away, but it was too late. The blast hit him indirectly at his shin, ripping the skin open. The dog demon cursed his ignorance. _Of course! How could I have forgotten about the ice brother? _Inhaling deeply, Sesshomaru continued after the fire snake, ignoring his wound and hoping that the ice serpent didn't attack anytime soon.

Sure, a snake demon would have usually been easy to defeat, but there two slight disadvantages to Sesshomaru's part. One: He had been searching all day and night for the past week for Naraku in vain. Sesshomaru was a taiyoukai, but even they got tired after some time. And Two: There were _two _of them. Fire and Ice together. Alone, they were hardly a challenge, but together, their strength made even Lord Sesshomaru wary. No, they weren't invincible, but it would take some energy to take care of them. And this demon was not about to run away and quit. Whirling around, Sesshomaru faced his opponents, his long furry pelt twirling around him in an ostentatious manner. He carefully examined them with his cool, golden eyes, determining their strengths and weaknesses. And the battle went on.

The fire serpent hissed in a bemused way at the dog demon, his scaly tail flicking back and forth with anticipation. The snake's scales shone a bright red, making the shiniest of rubies seem dull. He was a terrifying looking thing with heavy indestructible scales, a long smooth body about thirty feet in length finishing with a spiked tail filled with its venom. The cobra's brother stood in the back, letting icy frost evade the forest, making it even chillier than it already was with all his demonic breath. It was hard to tell which one was more intimidating; the younger fiery red brother with the hot temper or the older quiet brother whose movements were subtle but very damaging.

Sesshomaru thought for a moment. It had to be the ice serpent. He was definitely the superior one, which meant that he would have to die first in order for his brother to be defenseless and share his fate. A small ghost of a smile flickered on the dog demon's face as he realized who the fire and ice brothers reminded him of. _Inuyasha and I are just like them, _he thought, _but of course, I would never defend my brother. Foolish ice serpent. He would have lived longer if it weren't for that pathetic snake he's protecting. _Making up his mind, Sesshomaru drew out the Tokijin; it's blade glinting silver in the dim sunlight.

However, the fire serpent stepped in front of him, his long, yellow fangs dripping with venom. "Are you going to fight me or are you just going to cower in defeat like the filthy dog you are?"

Sesshomaru's sharp eyes narrowed in disgust. _Forget the plan, this snake had no right to insult me and now he shall pay with his life._ Time seemed to stop as the two opponents stared warily at one another, comparing strengths and weaknesses.

Sesshomaru coolly stood there; waiting for the opportune moment while the fire serpent hungrily licked his lips. There was nothing more appetizing to a hungry cobra than a dog demon, especially a powerful one. Oh, he could already hear the dog demon's bones crunching into bits with his sharp, painful teeth. And his warm blood flooding into his mouth and trickling down his throat made the snake's mouth water. Not being able to help himself anymore, the serpent charged toward Sesshomaru with a hiss, bloodlust making his ruby eyes gleam in the dying sunlight.

Prepared for this, the dog demon lazily flicked up the wrist holding the Tokijin, but not moving a step to defend himself from the snake's attacks. Hissing with glee at the thought that the dog had just surrendered, the cobra opened his mouth, flashing an impressive set of fangs with the venom dripping from them at Sesshomaru.

Still, the inuyoukai waited. Just one more step and he'd be dead… "Dragon Strike," came the subtle, but very terrifying whisper that seemed to silence everything, as though the whole forest was holding its breath. For a nanosecond, nothing happened. The cobra hesitated in his charge, fearful of what was about to come out from the cursed sword.

A delicate blue light suddenly began to flood out of the sword but with startling speed. The red serpent howled with pain at the slightest encounter with the blue energy and immediately began to back away. The dragon strike was like a cat, purring up against your legs and gently wrapping itself around you. That is, until it got mad like it was right then. Angered, the little kitten turned into a huge, roaring feline, cavorting all over the place and destroying everything in its path. And the two serpent brothers were in its path.

The wiser cobra understood that their lives were going to end soon, but he wouldn't allow that without a last injury to the enemy. Blinded with pain, the ice serpent followed the dog's scent with his dying senses and bit down as hard as he could muster with the remains of his strength. Satisfied by the sound of tearing flesh and the hiss of his venom, the ice serpent let the blue flames of the dragon strike wash over him and rip the life out of him.

The fire brother, seeing no other way of survival, cried with outrage and let a final red-hot ball of flame shoot through the sky before, he too, joined his brother in the afterlife. The fireball missed Sesshomaru by a lot, soaring out of the forest and exploding in the sky like some kind of deadly firework.

Seeing his work completed, Sesshomaru patiently waited for the aftereffects of the dragon strike to die down. After a minute or so, the blue energy finally began to calm down and with one more purr of satisfaction, the beast disappeared in a flash of blinding light. The battle won, Sesshomaru bent down to examine his wound. It was bleeding severely and he could smell the burning of his own flesh as the poison threatened to consume his life away. All the inuyoukai wanted to do right then was to transform into his large demon form, then curl up into a ball and stay that way until his youkai blood kicked in and healed him, but Sesshomaru did not allow himself to do just that. Curling up like a hurt puppy was something lesser demons would do. He was not a lesser demon. So, Sesshomaru just sat down, resting against the trunk of a tree, waiting for the healing process to start and trying to ignore the immense pain radiating from his shin. Little did he know that the pain was so excruciating that he began to slip out of his consciousness like all demons did when they lost that much blood. Sesshomaru's last thought was that he hoped Rin did not do anything stupid while he was gone before he tumbled into the dark void of unconsciousness…

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Once they were about ten feet from the ground, Kirara stopped her diving and forced her body erect so that they wouldn't hit the ground so hard. The moment Kirara touched the ground, Sango hopped off her back and landed with poise on the ground. _Now who was that damned demon that fired at me? _She wondered, looking around. A battle had definitely taken place there and the environment clearly showed that. The trees that had survived (which weren't very many) were covered in black soot and were missing many branches and leaves. The other trees lay in blacken ruins on the ground, giving off an awful burning odor. It seemed as though the blue energy she had seen earlier had destroyed everything in a crooked path leaving nothing alive for perhaps a mile. The dust of what appeared to be snake skin that was draped all over the place was another sign that there had been a battle over there, but the biggest sign was the lack of life.

In any forest, no matter how ominous it was, there was some kind of life. Regular animals would live in normal forests and demons would live in ominous forests, but there was no life whatsoever in the forest Sango was in. The exterminator frowned, _What could have been so powerful that it can frighten every single living thing out of sight? _Still frowning, Sango began to cautiously step around, looking for anything that could have hinted to why nothing was alive. Her brown eyes wandered around, then focused on a flash of pure silver. _It all makes sense now; it was Sesshomaru who did this. _She realized, her eyes resting on the Taiyoukai.

Sango gingerly placed one foot after the other as she silently crept toward him, her senses on high alert. She, being a skilled demon slayer, was highly trained to detect any sign of youkai, even the weakest ones with barely any hint of youkai in their blood. So, Sesshomaru, being a powerful, full-blooded Taiyoukai obviously would make her senses tingle with anticipation. Even though the sun had long set and it was now dark and cloudy without even the moon to guide her, Sango could clearly see the dog demon. It was hard not to. His long silvery hair, pale face, and light clothing were strong contrasts against the dark eerie forest. Sesshomaru had his eyes closed and appeared to be sleeping.

Inching closer, Sango instinctively reached for the Hiraikotsu strapped to her back. Finally, when she was less than a foot away from him, she sank down to a crouch to examine the demon. _Is he sleeping? _She wondered, staring at the beautiful inuyoukai. She moved one more inch forward, but then recoiled when she stepped in something warm and sticky. Sango quickly looked down, a feeling of disgust in her stomach. To her surprise, it wasn't snake guts or anything nasty like she had been expecting, but it was blood. But where did this blood come from? Sango followed the trail of blood with her eyes and the trail ended at Sesshomaru's leg.

The taijiya's eyebrows knitted into a frown as she gazed at the long, deep rip in the demon's skin. Blood flowed freely out of the wound and onto the earthy ground. To make matters worse, Sango could see the green glow of venom from deep within Sesshomaru's leg. Sango winced at the pain it must have caused. In fact, she was surprised that he was still alive.

Sango's head turned as she heard a familiar growl from behind her. It was Kirara warning her to get away. That growl was exactly what the slayer needed to snap out it. Sango quickly backed away from the hurt dog demon, remembering an important lesson all slayers were taught at an early age. _Never forget that no matter how badly wounded a youkai is, he could still easily kill you in his weakest state. _Sango recalled, biting her lip in frustration at her own ignorance. "How could I have forgotten?" She muttered out loud, "Thanks, Kirara, for that," She said, giving her companion a little smile.

Kirara gave her a little growl in response and turned so that she could offer her back to Sango. Like all the others demons, the fire neko wanted to escape from this dreadful forest as soon as possible. However, Sango did not accept the ride she was offered. The slayer stared at the youkai lord with a thoughtful expression on her face. _The poison that is in Sesshomaru's body… I recognize it. It is the poison from a cobra demon. Their venom is very deadly, but also very curable. _Sango reached over and took the white medical box from inside her little sack of supplies and laid down her giant boomerang on the ground. _As I thought, Kagome does have the Vergam root, the only cure to cobra poison… _Sango stared at Sesshomaru, pondering the situation. _But why the hell should _I _save Sesshomaru? Isn't he my enemy? _

Confused, the taijiya went over to lean on Kirara as though that would give her the answer to her problem. _No, he's Inuyasha's enemy… Does that make him my enemy as well? So if he's my enemy, should I finish him off? _Sango gazed at the Hiraikotsu, knowing that one slash of it and even the Great Sesshomaru would die. It would be so easy to just kill him… Yet, it would also be so easy to save him as well… What would she do?

Sango sighed heavily as she glanced back and forth between the Hiraikotsu and the medical box. "Oh, why not?" She said out loud as she grabbed the white box and dug her fingers through it for the necessary root…

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Sango bit her lip as she slowly approached the demon lord with the crushed mixture of the root and antibiotics in a bowl. When she was a few inches away, she cautiously waited for his reaction, but he kept on sleeping (or whatever inuyoukai do when they are hurt). Relieved, Sango dipped her head to look at the bloody mass of a wound and gingerly began to dab the wound with her homemade medicine. However, the second she touched the dog demon's wound, Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, glowing bright red. He growled and hissed at her menacingly, making Sango back off in fear. _What happened? Why is he so volatile? I thought he was asleep! _Sango glared at the dog demon, "Damn it Sesshomaru! I'm trying to save you here!" Her angry outburst seemed to have calmed him down, for his eyes closed once more and he fell silent.

Scoffing slightly at him being so unappreciative, Sango carefully began to rub in the mixture, ignoring the fact that she was getting warm blood all over her hands.

A couple minutes later, Sango sat back and leaned against one of the only trees left in the forest, waiting for the medicine to kick in and for Sesshomaru to regain consciousness. Kirara was a distance away, her back turned to Sango. The demon cat was still upset with her master for reviving Sesshomaru. Kirara hated Sesshomaru with a fierce passion for the obvious reasons: he was a dog demon and she was a cat, but it went deeper than that. It was very, _very _slight, but knowing Sango for all those years, Kirara could sense the slightest hint of the beginning of affection toward the filthy dog from Sango. She didn't want to believe that he strong, proud mistress would ever love _Sesshomaru, _but who knows? Why else would she have spared the demon? This was not like her at all and Kirara didn't like it. A small growl emitted from her throat. Then, Kirara moved herself even further way, her rump an unpleasant view in Sango's face.

Sango sighed, "Kirara-" She started, about to comfort her pet, but a hiss from the newly awaken inuyoukai a couple yards away caught her attention. Wary of what he might attempt to do, Sango picked up the Hiraikotsu that lay at her feet and braced herself for the worst.

Sesshomaru's eyes snapped open, and to Sango's relief, they were their usual golden, not youkai red. He slowly got up and straightened himself and then looked at his wound with mild surprise. "You did this?" He questioned laconically.

A subtle nod was his answer. Those brilliant sunshine eyes narrowed slightly at her, "Why?"

Sango bit the inside of her cheek, not sure how to answer that, for she herself did not even know the answer. "You… You were hurt… I don't know. I had the root with me and you needed it so…" The slayer shrugged. When the demon lord's blazing stare continued, Sango sighed then continued, making something up from the top of her head. "I could have finished you off," she said smoothly, "But I guess I was too nice to."

Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow at her, signaling his disbelief. "Ok, fine, the truth is I don't really even know… I think the reason may be that I was saving your life so that Inuyasha could kill you or something like that…"

"Humph," The demon lord grunted his satisfaction of her answer. He flashed his blasé eyes once more at Sango before twisting around and walking away, "If that was your reasoning behind your actions, I suppose I don't have to thank you. Besides, you did little help for me anyways. It was my youkai blood that healed me."

Sango's jaw fell open in outrage as she watched Sesshomaru disappear from her view. "Why that arrogant bastard! He oughta go and-" Kirara meowed her relief as she watched the exterminator stomp around and curse the inuyoukai with the harshest language she could muster. Maybe things wouldn't go as the fire neko feared. Hopefully they wouldn't meet the appalling dog demon anymore. But, who knows?

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Any suggestions? I have most of the plot thought out but it's hard putting it on paper (or the computer screen) so any suggestions would be helpful! 


	4. Encounter

I wrote this a couple nights ago when I was supposed to babysitting my sister when she was playing monopoly with her friends. So I was completely bored which makes this kinda bad. Oh well. Try not to flame me too bad…

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and I never will, happy?

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**Chapter 4: Encounter**

Sango yawned so loudly that she feared that her ribs might crack. It was almost dawn now and she hadn't gotten a good night's sleep for god knows how long. She probably had dark bags under her eyes, her head felt light, and her limbs felt stiff from all this continuous riding. And Sango was not the only one tired. Kirara was probably twice as worse as her, having to transport both their weight at breakneck pace through the sky.

She really wanted to stop her pet so that they could both just sleep, but no, that couldn't be possible. They were now flying across the ocean, looking for the small island Sango found on a map she possessed of this territory. If her map proved true, they would find an island any minute now. And if they didn't… The taijiya gave an involuntary shudder at the thought of that. The ocean had been beautiful and marvelous at first, but the deep blue salty waters palled on her after a couple of tedious hours. All she wanted right then was the slightest bit of land. Just something she could lay her head on. Even the roughest, most rocky bit of land would be just fine to-

A loud meow tore Sango from her reverie. They had reached the island.

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Sango let out a loud, satisfied sigh as she slipped under the crisp sheets. _Finally, _she drowsily thought, a small smile on her face, _what has been denied from me for so long… _The girl immediately closed her eyes, savoring the soft texture of the cotton blankets and the warmth pouring from a bundle of fur at her feet that was Kirara. The smile on her face widened a bit at the thought of Kirara. The fire neko was always with her, had always been with her since the day they met. No matter what the situation was, no matter where she was, Sango could always count on her little cat friend to be there besides her.

A day of not seeing a best friend was perfectly normal for most people, but one day without Kirara caused Sango to pace back and forth, chewing on her nail and creeping close to hysteria. It was an odd sight when it was just Sango alone with no Kirara perched on her shoulder or lurking in the background. The two were inseparable, never apart. Sango and Kirara were the best of friends… No, more than that. They were soul mates.

They were so close that Kirara knew Sango's every intention and movement. She never disagreed with her human companion's actions… until today… A slight frown overcame the taijiya's eyebrows as she recalled Kirara disapproval for her decision to help Sesshomaru… Even though she only thought of the stoical lord in her subconscious mind, Sango's pulse surged forward. _Sesshomaru… _were the slayer's last thoughts. And because her last thoughts were about him, Sango lapsed into an uncomfortable dream about the inuyoukai she had saved…

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Sango's eyes snapped open as bright red light streamed past her closed eyelids, announcing the near end of day. She woozily yawned while stretching out her limbs. _What a lovely dream, _she thought, the necessary amount of sleep she had throughout the day putting her in a good mood, _But I can't quite remember what my dream was about. _Frowning slightly, Sango sat up in her bed and strained to recall the foggy dream…

She had been in an odd, misty meadow of some kind… Was it snow that was making it misty? No, it couldn't have been because the sun had been brightly shining in her dream… Then why was it foggy? Sango's lips pursed together tightly as she remembered approaching someone, a light figure in the distance. In her dream, she had felt so much joy in seeing that person… But who was that person?

The taijiya shrugged off all her confusion and worry, deciding that her dream wasn't that important anyways. She had gotten odder dreams before, so why should she worry about this one now? There was no need for that.

Sango then grudgingly crept out of her bed and switched her long, loose nightgown for her usual green and pink kimono and picked up the ball of fluff that was Kirara off the foot of her bed. "Come on, Kirara," She soothingly whispered to the feline, "I'm starving, how about you?" And then the two best friends walked off to their really, _really _late breakfast, for it was almost already moonrise.

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Sango sighed as she laid on the cool, flat, grassy meadow, Kirara on her shoulder. The gentle spring had caused many wildflowers to blossom into extraordinary looking pieces of art. The sharp contrast of greens, purples, whites, and blues made the little meadow seem like a rare and extremely beautiful collage. Nothing distressed the taijiya right then. She had just eaten and the warm food felt good in her belly. Put that along with the company of your best friend, the floral aroma of the lush flowers, the soft, comforting grass of the safe meadow, and the relaxing twinkle of stars above and you'd be in heaven. Everything was wonderful. And the best part was that she was on an isolated island that was invisible to demon eyes, so there was no random exterminating of demons tonight. Nope, no demons at all, just warm, welcoming humans.

Just then, a familiar tingly feeling trickled down the slayer's spine, making her immediately jump up, alerted. Kirara felt the odd presence as well and leapt off her friend's back, reverting to her larger form. She bared her teeth in a furious snarl. The presence was so strong that the aura of that demon was flooding through the serene meadow, suddenly making everything dark and cloudy. The aroma of flowers stopped. The lovely music the crickets made ceased to continue. It was dead silent. Only one person in the world could have had an aura that strong. It was obviously Sesshomaru.

Sango quickly glanced around her in a desperate attempt to find any kind of weapon to defend herself. It was useless unless she was to use daisies. The exterminator bit her lip in horror as she saw the small smirk that was beginning to form on the demon lord's stoical face. "So, you're defenseless, is that right, slayer?"

"Of course not," Sango quickly said… Too quickly.

Sesshomaru's slight smirk widened at her response. Glaring at the inuyoukai, Sango quickly tried to change the subject in case it got ugly and there was a very large possibility that it actually might… "So, what are you doing here?"

The dog demon cocked an eyebrow at her in such a way that Sango couldn't help but suddenly feel very stupid. "Are you really that foolish? Do you not know what this place is?"

Sango didn't blush; she just didn't get embarrassed that easily. Sometimes, she blushed around Miroku, but that was because she felt so strongly for that monk. Otherwise, it was really rare that she would turn red. However, standing around talking to Sesshomaru and feeling stupid around the cool, always under control demon aristocrat, a bit of red started to color her usually pale cheeks. Looking away from him, the slayer slowly shook her head.

A long awkward silence passed between the two. Not being able to not see Sesshomaru's reaction anymore, Sango peeked at him from beneath her thick eyelashes… and immediately turned away again when she met the full icy gaze of those stunning topaz eyes. Just the realization that Sesshomaru had been looking at her made the taijiya's face flush red again.

Finally, to Sango's relief, Sesshomaru began to speak again, "You do realize that this is part of the western territory? It's _my_ land. These humans are just living here under _my_ supervision."

"Oh," Sango said, struggling to digest this new information, "Wait," She frowned, a new thought popping into her head, "Why would _you_ let humans on your land? I thought we weren't good enough for demons like you."

Sango could see the demon lord's jaw twitch but other than that, he made no indication that he had heard a word she had just said. A little sigh escaped her lips as she realized that he was not going to answer her question. Then, a smile popped on her face as she thought of a new way to torment him, "What? You're not going soft, are you?"

Those two magnificent golden eyes flashed in anger, "Of course not. Do not accuse me of such pathetic human feelings." He told her, and then flexed his deadly claws in warning.

Kirara took a step forward to be in front of her mistress, growling as she prepared to defend what was hers. Sango rolled her eyes and brushed her feline back. She did not fear Sesshomaru, not even a bit… And now, she wanted to test his patience… To see how he would react. Kirara, knowing Sango better than anyone, immediately knew what her owner was planning and warily gave her a warning look, but it was too late.

"Really?" She questioned, batting her ridiculously thick black lashes at him, "By the way that you are acting, I wouldn't be surprised if you visit here often to meet these humans you supposedly hate. Such a dog. I suppose they pat you on the head and feed you treats when you sit and heel."

She had touched a nerve there because in an instant, Sesshomaru had her pinned against a tall oak tree by her delicate throat. "You dare insult me?" He snarled, his eyes flashing red with rage.

Sango was completely unnerved by his threat, "I think I just did."

"Then prepare to die," Sesshomaru stated, his jaw clenched together in fury.

"Kill me," Sango challenged, her stern cinnamon eyes locked on his.

A moment passed of intense glaring between the two. Butterflies formed in Sango's stomach at the close encounter, but she held her glare and tried to ignore the fact that they both could hear her heart frantically pounding. After a while, Sesshomaru's eyes started to clear up and revert to being cool and golden. "No," He muttered, suddenly finding out how close he was to Sango and leaning back a couple inches so that he couldn't feel her warm breath on his face. Feeling her curious gaze on him, he quickly added, "I would never sink low enough to kill any defenseless human." He took away his hand that lay on her bottom of her neck as he discovered how close that was to her chest.

The taijiya didn't know what came over her to make her plea for her own death, but at that moment, she flicked out her wrist to reveal a glint of sliver hidden in her clothing. A hidden blade. She then made her point that she was a slayer and slayers were _never_ defenseless. Sango cocked her head to the side as if to ask _Now what?_

An internal battle went on inside the inuyoukai's head, but of course, it did not show on his face. All his instincts and common sense screamed at him to kill the girl, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to. A stronger part of him told him not to. Sesshomaru was not sure what that part of him was but he had learned to obey it. That part of him had made him bring back Rin so it obviously must know what's right. Exhaling deeply, Sesshomaru quickly let the girl go and walked away in his usual cool manner.

A grin flooded Sango's face as she watched him do so. Somehow, she had known that he was going to do that all along. She absentminded stroked Kirara's head as the feline meowed loudly in her own confusion. Still smiling, Sango began walking the other way, deciding that she would visit the beautiful shore all the villagers had told her about, thinking about the demon lord the whole time… _Maybe he does have a heart after all… _She thought, and then quickly chuckled at that thought, _Nah! Who am I kidding? Of course he doesn't! _She laughed and scooped up Kirara in her arms, but deep within the slayer, she knew that he did.

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Sesshomaru paused briefly to watch Sango's retreating figure. He had forgotten to tell her to stay off his territory like he usually did to everyone else. The Taiyoukai opened his mouth to say the words, but then quickly closed his mouth again. _She's too far away to hear me, _he tried to tell himself, but that was not the truth. The truth was that he just didn't want her to leave.

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Aw, sweet, right? It might have been a bit OOC, so sorry about that. How was that? Am I on the right track? Please review! 


	5. The Dog and the Cat

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha… Maybe in 5 years, but not now…

Bum bum bum bum! This is the chapter where Naraku enters! The one we've all been waiting for! It's the start of the plot I'm been working out for months! Yay! Oh, and it's long! An added bonus!

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**Chapter 5: The Dog and the Cat **

Sango slowly dipped her bare feet in the shallow water, enjoying the gentle coolness on her skin, the salty breeze that whipped her long hair all over her face like some kind of soft curtain, and the occasional squeal from the seagulls overhead, casting shadows on her face from their oversized wings. She had a peaceful look on her pretty face that hid the turmoil within her from her recent encounter with the dog demon. _Why didn't he kill me?_ She wondered, amused by Sesshomaru's reaction. The way he had let her go immediately after he realized how close they were still brought a smile to the taijiya's face. Still, the question of why she was still alive hung in the air.

And she was not the only one confused by that. Kirara hung beside her, not being able to fully enjoy the beautiful seawater for, like Sango, her mind was also somewhere else. Kirara had firmly believed that Sesshomaru was no good; no good at all. He was a hazard to her owner's life. He was dangerous. He was evil. He was a monster… So why did he save Sango? Could there be something more to the cold, marble statue of a demon? Kirara snorted at the very idea. Of course not! He was a _dog. _That explained everything. Still, was there something more between him and Sango? The feline snorted even louder at that idea, shaking her head out of those thoughts.

The monk, Miroku, flirted with Sango day and night without rest and still, Kirara could tell that her owner did not love him. She did not come to love people that easily. She did care for the monk a whole lot, Kirara could see that much, but there was a big difference between simply caring for someone and loving them. This much was for sure: Sango loved her father. Sango loved Kohaku. Sango loved her mother. Sango did _not_ love Miroku nor Sesshomaru for that matter. She was simply _curious_ about the icy lord. She probably had never met anyone as arrogant as him. Satisfied by the reason she got for Sango's odd behavior, Kirara leapt onto her owner's shoulder and curled up into a ball around her neck.

Sango grinned at the feline, "Ready to go?" she asked, slipping her feet out of the water that was starting to chill her toes and slipping them into her sandals. "We can't stay here all day. We have to move on." She absentmindedly said, stroking the soft scarf of fur Kirara made around her neck as she started to walk back to the inn they had stayed in.

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Sesshomaru ambled down the path, deliberately slow so that he wouldn't pass through his territory too quickly. He wanted to stay in the Western Lands, to… um… check up on some things. Yes, that was the truth, he did. But they weren't somethings, they were someones. Two someones who obviously disliked him… well, he wasn't sure about the girl, but the neko hated him and she let that show.

"Say it!" A little feminine voice hollered.

"I will not say something as utterly ridiculous as that!" Came the annoying croak in reply.

"Do it!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"YES!"

"N-" Jaken started to say, but Sesshomaru interrupted him.

"Jaken," All the demon lord had to do was breathe the imp's name and suddenly the warm spring day became so much more cold and scary.

Jaken gulped loudly, "Yes, milord?" He nervously squeaked.

"Entertain Rin," The inuyoukai tersely said. Though his words were light and without emotion, intimidation was etched into every syllable.

"Y-yes, milord," the imp repeated, his ugly little face scrunched up in worry.

Rin squealed in delight, "Now, repeat after me; Sally sells seashells by the seashore!"

"Um, Sally sees shells at the salting place?" Jaken attempted, frowning slightly.

Rin's brows knitted together in a glare, "No! Say it right! Sally sells seashells by the seashore!"

"Sally sold seashells near the shore…" Jaken tried again getting a bit better.

Rin was getting really frustrated now, "It's Sally sells seashells by the seashore!!!"

"Sally sells seashells by the seashore," Jaken repeated slowly to not mess up. He was a bit irritated himself, but didn't let it show in case Sesshomaru was listening and there was a great possibility he was.

"Good job Jaken!" Rin exclaimed, "Now say it faster!"

"What? I'm not going to-"

"Do it!" the little girl menacingly growled at him, "Or else I'll tell Sesshomaru-sama!"

"Ok, ok!" Jaken quickly agreed, "Sally-sells-seashells-by-the-seashore!"

"Faster!"

"Sallysellsseashellsbytheseashore!"

"FASTER!"

Jaken took a deep breath and was going to begin, but Sesshomaru quickly cut him off, "She's here," He muttered, his golden eyes narrowing.

Rin frowned. She had no knowledge of what had happened to her master when he had left them, "Who's here?" She questioned.

The answer came to her as a twosome suddenly popped out from a dense part of forest that covered much of the path. It was a pretty girl in a funny black outfit with a little kitty on her shoulder. Well, she _had_ a little kitty on her shoulder. In one fluid movement, the kitty jumped off the girl and with a threatening flash of red fire, a prodigious feline replace the cute kitty. The neko growled at them –well, actually, only at Sesshomaru- flashing it's long dangerous fangs.

The pretty girl didn't even seem to notice that her pet had changed into something so horrifying and she kept on walking in a leisurely pace, humming a soft tune and completely ignoring them. To Rin's surprise, Sesshomaru did the exact same, ignoring the twosome, and walking away, not even sparing a look in their direction. Even when the fire neko growled straight in the inuyoukai's face, he disregarded her and continued to walk. If any other demon had done just that to the taiyoukai, Rin could bet that they would not live to see the light of another day. However, he had just let this demon slide. What was with that?

Sango looked very carefree with her humming and laid-back strolling, but that just hid what was going on in her brain. The slayer snuck a very hidden peek at Rin from beneath her thick eyelashes, surprised at the results. The human who Kagome had told her about that was traveling with Sesshomaru was nothing like Sango had expected. Well, actually she hadn't even been expecting a human. She had thought that perhaps Kagome had gotten it wrong and somehow it wasn't a human. She had thought that it might have been a demon in disguise; maybe even Sesshomaru's own daughter or something. Sango frowned. For some reason, the thought of Sesshomaru having a daughter discontented her. For, in order to have a child, he would have had to have it with some woman and the idea of Sesshomaru being with some woman made Sango feel sick in the stomach.

Sesshomaru cocked an eyebrow, having caught Sango's sneaked look, as incognito as she tried to make it be. _So she's curious about Rin?_ He silently mused, _well, why wouldn't she be? It's not everyday you find a demon traveling with a human. _Sesshomaru briefly glanced at Kirara from the corner of his eye, _or perhaps it is… _He almost formed his perfect lips into a smile right then, but quickly stopped himself. _If she's curious, then I might as well quench her thirst. _He looked at Kirara once again, not bothering to be sneaky with it. Kirara caught his gaze and snarled at once. _We'll do an exchange…_

Quick as lightning, Sesshomaru made up an excuse, "Rin," He whispered softly. The girl's head jerked up at once to listen to his instructions, "Stay here with the slayer," At the very mention of her, the humming stopped as Sango turned to listen.

"Wha-" She started to question, but Sesshomaru interrupted her.

"Jaken, you go to the Hiyaterin Bridge," he said, authority obvious in his voice, "and fetch me-" He paused to make something up, "the report of the area Lord Natnami promised me." Sango frowned at his request. She could also see Jaken's confusion as well, but he did not dare disobey his lord and scurried away as fast as his stubby little legs would allow.

Sesshomaru then took a step forward. Sango took a step back instinctively, but to her shock, he wasn't going toward her, he was slowly advancing toward Kirara. The feline snarled loudly, her fur bristling around her like a lion's mane. Sango was just about to snap out the Hiraikotsu to defend her pet, but then she noted something new. Sesshomaru wasn't progressing toward the feline like a dog was to his prey, but in a different way… Sango couldn't place her finger on what that looked like, but it didn't look threatening. So, instead, she stood there with Rin, both intrigued by the demon's actions.

Once Sesshomaru was less than five feet away, Kirara let out a truly terrifying snarl in warning that chilled Sango to the bone. She had never heard that sound before. No matter what situation they were in, no matter how bad it was, Kirara had always managed to keep her cool. So why was she like this now? Was she really full of that much enmity for this demon?

Suddenly, a second noise joined Kirara's snarl; a deep rumbling sound much like the one that had come out of the feline's throat, but different somehow… Much less menacing. Sango frowned. She was completely astounded to find it coming out of Sesshomaru.

Sango watched as Kirara blinked. The neko looked even more confused than she, if that were possible. A few more seconds of somewhat genial growling was exchanged between the two before Kirara reverted to her smaller form. "Kirara?" Sango questioned, her head feeling like her brain had been deflated. Nothing made sense right then.

Kirara gave her a reassuring meow and then… Sango rubbed her eyes, not believing this… the neko then bounced onto Sesshomaru and twisted around his neck the same way she always did with her owner. Sesshomaru turned to stare at Sango with the full intensity of his molten eyes, "Do not be concerned, your pet will be returned." And with that, he disappeared with Kirara into the depths of the forest with astounding speed.

Sango tapped her head, surprised to find that it did not crumple under the force of her fingers. It felt like it might explode at any moment. Forgetting that she wasn't alone, the taijiya sank down to the ground and sat, then pulled up her knees to her chest and buried her face in her knees. A small voice startled her, "Are you ok?"

The slayer looked up to find a pair of bright eyes staring directly at her, slightly clouded with worry. Sango gave Rin a smile, slightly embarrassed about being caught like that, "Yes, I'm fine… I just think better this way."

"Oh," Rin said, drawing her own knees to her chest and burying her face within, "Well, what were you thinking about?" She asked, her voice slightly muffled.

"You know, everything." The young woman said with a shrug. Then, Sango stared intently at the girl. She seemed so much like an ordinary child…

"Oh, that's cool… Are you done thinking about everything, now?"

The slayer couldn't help but smile at the girl, "Yes, Rin, I am."

The little girl smiled a toothy grin, "How did you know my name? I don't know yours."

"My name is Sango. I've heard so much about you, Rin!"

Rin frowned, "From who?"

Sango couldn't tell her that she had been gossiping about Sesshomaru with her friends. That would just be rude and quite embarrassing to admit. So instead she said, "From everywhere. Everyone knows who you are!"

Rin put her small hands on her hips, "From who?" She repeated, trying to look tough.

"Why, um, Sesshomaru, of course!"  
"He told you about me?" Rin questioned looking baffled.

"Yes. He told me what a sweet, charming little girl you are and I doubted him at first, but now that I've seen you, I believe everything he's told me!"  
"Wow!" The cheery girl's face seemed to light up with joy. "Wait," Rin suddenly said, looking at Sango from head to toe. A smile popped into her face as she finished her examination of the slayer, "You're pretty," She said, making Sango blush in pleasure, "Are you going to marry Sesshomaru-sama and become my new mother?"

Sango's blush quickly faded away, leaving her face pale with shock, "Um, Rin-"

"That's so great!" Rin continued, not listening, "I lost my real mama when she got killed by bandits, so I'm so glad to have you, Sango!" She happily said, giving the taijiya a hug, but only reaching her leg. "We'll be so happy together, right?"

Sango bit her lip. Rin seemed so happy. She couldn't disappoint her. It would break her little heart. "Yes, Rin. We will all be happy," She said, though a little shiver ran through her body at the thought of marrying Sesshomaru. She liked to pretend that it was a shiver of disgust, but she knew, deep inside, that it was something much different. It was actually…

"Come on, let's go swimming!" Rin giggled, pleased at the idea of Sango being her mother. The little girl gently took her hand and skipped to the right.

The taijiya couldn't help but smile a bit as Rin's good mood spread some warmth into her heart. No wonder Sesshomaru kept her around.

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Rin watched intently as Sango continued to polish her Hiraikotsu with extreme care. "You see," The taijiya was explaining, "I get this wax from a special place on Mt. Katoraru. It can't be found anywhere else in the world. That's because they make it from the unique insects that live there."

The little girl nodded, brushing a sopping wet lock of hair out of her eyes. They had recently gone swimming and before they could have even dried off in the warm sun, Rin had demanded that Sango show her the weapon she always carried on her back. So, the two girls with soaking wet clothes that hung on their bodies in an uncomfortable way, sat by the little river as Sango idly rambled about her Hiraikotsu, her mind somewhere else.

Naturally, Sango had questioned the girl about her relationship to Sesshomaru, but even though Rin told her very little, the taijiya had gained a bit of insight as to why she was traveling with a heartless ice statue…

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_The two girls laughed as they splashed each other with water. Sango wrapped an arm around the child and lifted her up, giggling at her screams of delight as she twirled the little girl around. The water was very cool and clung to their clothes, but they both ignored that and continued to laugh and play… _

_Finally, Sango set Rin down and they both sat on the shore with a sigh, "Rin, aren't we having fun?"_

_"Yes!" the child said, gazing at Sango with sparkling eyes, "I never get to laugh this much with Lord Sesshomaru and Jaken."_

_"Oh?" The taijiya questioned, eager to learn more about her, "Why is that?"_

_"Well, Jaken is always, grumpy and Sesshomaru-sama is…" Rin paused to find the right word, "well, he's him, you know? He just doesn't say much…"_

_"They don't sound very fun to be around," Sango sympathetically said, "Hey, I know, why don't you come to live with me and Kirara?" She suggested, waiting for the girl's reaction._

_Rin's face scrunched up in an emotion Sango could really decipher, "Oh, no, I couldn't. You're nice and all, Miss Sango, but I couldn't ever leave Sesshomaru-sama!"_

_"Why not? He doesn't seem to be the right type of person for a little girl like you to be around." But Rin still shook her head. A new thought popped into Sango's head, "Wait, is this because you don't like me? Oh, well, I understand…"_

_"No! I like you a whole bunch, Sango. It's just that… I couldn't survive without Lord Sesshomaru…"_

_"You still haven't told me why not." Sango reminded her, utterly confused now from the shocking amount of devotion this little girl showed to her lord._

_"Don't you understand?" Rin asked, staring right at her with her large doe-like eyes, "I love Sesshomaru-sama!"_

_"Oh my," Sango gasped the wind suddenly knocked out of her. She curled her knees up to her chest as she strained to breathe, but Rin just kept on going._

_"My real parents died from bad guys and Sesshomaru-sama has been here from me ever since… He's like a father to me, though I don't really remember my really daddy… I really do love him, Miss Sango, and that's why I can never let him go…"_

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Sango sighed as she was snapped out of her reminiscence by Rin who was asking her a question. "What is your weapon made out of, Sango?"

The taijiya opened her mouth to answer, but then the overpowering dark demonic aura followed by the fresh, crisp, almost indescribable scent of a familiar person made her close her mouth again. It was actually quite hard to explain. Yes, it was fresh and crisp, but it also smelt like something different than other beings. If it were possible, this scent smelt _cold. _But, it wasn't a good type of cold. It was a frightening cold coated with darkness and evil. At the same time, it was mouth-watering and very inviting… Sesshomaru had returned.

Sango almost turned her head to look at him, but remembered that she was still angry at him for not explaining his business with Kirara. Instead of telling Rin her Hiraikotsu was made out of centipede bones, Sango quickly changed course.

"Are you asking what the Hiraikotsu is made out of?" The taijiya asked, her voice unnaturally sweet, "Why, it's made of demon bones of course!" She turned to glare at Sesshomaru, "_Dog _demon bones," Her voice was edgy as she empathized that word.

Both Rin and Jaken, who had just returned, snapped their heads to stare at Sesshomaru, worrying what he was going to do. No one said anything offense like that to their lord and got away with it… However, Sesshomaru merely did as little as blink and no more. His cool mien did not suggest that he had heard a word the slayer had said, though with his sharp senses, he must have. Instead, his eyes continued to search Sango, an eyebrow lifted oh so slightly at the sight of their soaking-wet clothing. A light blush covered the taijiya's face as she recalled how her clothes clung to her body in all the wrong places when she was wet. She didn't let that stop her, though because she wasn't done with the demon lord yet.

"Have you had your fun with my pet?" She demanded, "Well, can I have her back now, Sesshomaru?" She stretched out a hand beckoning toward Kirara who bounced at the demon lord's feet.

Jaken's eyes bulged so big that they might burst at anytime. "Why you insolent wench! That's Sesshomaru-_sama_ for you!"

To the imp's amazement, Sango did not start groveling and begging for forgiveness. "Let's go now," She muttered to Kirara who leaped eagerly from Sesshomaru's side into her arms. "We shall take our leave now, _Sesshomaru_," She said, stressing his name, "Hope to run into you again," the slayer amiably told him, strolling away from them. "Not!" She added under her breath, knowing that Sesshomaru could very well hear her.

And with that, Kirara transformed into her fierce neko form. Sango willingly got on and within a second, they were in the air flying away from Jaken's loud vocal outrage from below…

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Naraku watched the five exchange words, his face just barely able to hide his immense shock. Luckily for him, he was in his usual whereabouts in his usual castle in the darkest room there. Kagura and Kanna were not around so he was all by himself. That was good so no one could see that the infamous Naraku had expressed an emotion other that malice. He was just too shocked. It was just too unbelievable on so many different levels. First of all, why was Sesshomaru with the slayer's pet neko? Cats and dogs never got along and there they were, sauntering around like they were lifelong friends… What was that about?

Secondly, why was the taijiya with the dog's precious little girl? Did he trust the woman well enough with his beloved child? If so, why? Had some kind of truce formed between the two without his knowledge? Naraku shook his head. That couldn't be. He had been watching every single one of the slayer's moves ever since the minute she had decided to leave Inuyasha and the other wimpy humans. Naraku had decided that Sango might be useful to him in the future…

Last and most important of all, when the slayer had insulted Sesshomaru so, why hadn't he done anything to her? He just stood there and watched like the usual lifeless lump he was. Naraku remembered that Sesshomaru was also after his head. Why was that? He had barely done anything to the inuyoukai's high pride, but yet the dog desired his blood. And here, a _human_ woman scorns everything about Sesshomaru and he lets it slide… Why? Why? Why? Could this do with the fire neko and his precious little girl? Suddenly, it hit him.

_Oh, I see what kind of truce they're in, _Naraku thought, _like father, like son. Sesshomaru desires after human bitches just as much as his pathetic father did. How sweet. _A deep chuckle radiated through the darkness where Naraku resided. _No wonder Sesshomaru had gone off with the neko! He was probably asking her for her permission for the slayer… And that's why the slayer was with the child; to gain her trust when she takes over as her mother. How incredibly lovely. I would hate to break this up…_ A flash of bright white gleamed from the darkness as Naraku smiled, _actually, I wouldn't… _

A booming laugh chilled the souls of every living creature around as Naraku continued to watch the taijiya zip through the sky on her mount through the dark glass of the crystal he used to look through the eyes of his puppet, a plan forming in that mechanical brain of his...

* * *

Ok, that was pretty creepy, right? Oh, and just so you know, nothing that Naraku assumed was true… Sesshomaru was not asking Kirara's permission for Sango's hand. That would be just completely wrong! –shakes head- poor dumb old Naraku. Anyways, I'm kind of fond of this chapter. Yes, odd, but this is the first of this story that I actually like. Well, how do you feel? The plot is actually way more in depth than just this. I think I'm in the right direction, right? 


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